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Yoga Posture 101
Backbends
This month i thought i would change it up a bit. Instead of focusing on one particular pose, we will dive into a whole class of yoga poses. I thought i would tackle and bring greater appreciation to those poses which many either fear or are frustrated by, backbends.
Backbends and Inversions can be some of the most difficult and rewarding of all the yoga poses. For most people they bring up fear, but, they also have the greatest ability to overcome fear and increase our self-confidence and offer us the opportunity to carry that courageous quality into our everyday life. They stimulate the nervous system(because of this energizing effect do not end a practice with backbends). Depression can be helped by the stimulating nature of these poses. This class of poses strengthens the back, makes the whole spine supple, & can be the biggest aid in helping correct poor posture. Think of how much of your day is spent bending forward or reaching forward or looking downward. When do you do movements or positions that have you looking up or leaning back? For most of us, only in a yoga class. Generally the kind of forward bending we do in our normal life causes the lumbar vertebrae to flatten and the front of the discs to get compressed. Long term effects of this, or adding lifting of a heavy object can be just the straw to break the camels back. The posterior ligaments on the back of our spine are not generally as strong as the frontal ligaments. That added, with pressure from the front moving to the back can leave us with strains and laxity that doesn't support the posterior side of the vertebrae and disc, now we have a situation vulnerable for a herniation of that disc material. The best support you can offer ligaments is to engage the muscles around them to help. This tension can help do some of the job of the ligament or through the tension more supportive tissue can be stimulated to be reproduced and formed around the area offering more support. Poses where the belly is on the ground deeply massages all the internal organs. Abdominal muscles are toned and strengthened. Breathing capacity is increased.
Remember- when issues or pain arise in a yoga pose it generally happens going into or coming out of a pose. In these poses it is important that once you have set a foundation part of your body you do not move it until you are back out of the pose again. Its important to be ever mindful getting into a pose, holding a pose and exiting a pose. General causes of discomfort in these poses come from a few key ways in which we work these poses. People either do not tuck the tailbone, causing all the curve to be created in the lower vertebrae or they over tuck the tailbone sending the thighs forward and decreasing space for the tailbone to lengthen and take the pressure off the vertebrae. Another common tendency is to have all the arch in low back and not upper back. Think of backbends as 80% of bend being in upper back to prevent this tendency or more accurately evenly distribute the bend from T-12 in both directions.
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It is best especially after deep backbends to do a action that sets the thigh bones back. This helps release the psoas which can open the lower back up if you happen to over do it. Poses like wind eliminating and Supta Padanusthasana are ideal examples where you take thigh bones back by pressing the bottom thigh to the floor.
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Don't give up on backbends. They can be key to help what ails you. Seek out your yoga teachers to watch you in these poses and check your alignment or give you a hands on feel as to how these poses work and the direction of your action you should be taking in them.
Remember a backbend a day can help keep the back surgeon away. | 
